Kraken vs Flames

Seattle rolls into Calgary on a seven-game point streak (6-0-1 since December 23) while the Flames are coming off a draining 4-3 home loss to Nashville on Sunday, leaving them on a 3-2 run over their last five but in the second half of a back-to-back with less rest. Significant pieces are missing on both blue lines, with Seattle still without Brandon Montour after hand surgery and Calgary down Jake Bean along with depth forwards like Samuel Honzek and Martin Pospisil, but the top-six and top-four cores for each club are otherwise intact per the current ESPN depth charts. Historically this matchup has tilted toward Calgary, including a 4-2 Flames win here on December 18 in which they outshot Seattle 46-23 and leaned heavily on their Kadri–Backlund–Andersson spine that has piled up points against the Kraken, yet that dominance is now colliding with a very different form curve in which Seattle’s defensive structure and goaltending (Grubauer and Daccord combining to hold recent opponents like Nashville and Vancouver to four total regulation goals) have stabilized while the Flames continue to live on narrow margins. With Calgary sitting on 41 games and clinging to relevance below the West cutoff while Seattle protects a wild-card slot, the urgency angle cuts both ways, but the rest advantage and current Kraken form make +138 attractive enough to back the road dog on the moneyline at a B-grade: solid value for a modest stake, but not elite given Calgary’s long-term edge in this series and home-ice volatility. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 05/01/2026 09:31

Both teams’ recent trends and matchup profile lean slightly toward goals despite season-long scoring averages that sit just below this 5.5 total, with Calgary’s last six on one day of rest producing five overs and Seattle’s current run featuring back-to-back four-goal outings powered by Beniers and a reawakened power play. Key injuries skew more toward defensive depth than top attacking talent—Montour’s puck-moving absence for Seattle and Bean’s injury for Calgary thin out second-pair minutes—while the current rosters still showcase primary creators like Kadri, Backlund, Coronato and Andersson for the Flames and Eberle, Stephenson and Beniers for the Kraken, all confirmed active on ESPN’s most recent listings. The Flames just generated four goals on 32 shots against Nashville and have already hung four on Seattle at this rink in December, and they routinely drive volume (around 29 shots per night) against a Kraken team that bleeds high-danger looks at five-on-five even as it keeps raw goals against reasonable; at the same time, Seattle’s top-12 power play will test a Calgary penalty kill that is solid but occasionally overtaxed by their style. With the Flames’ historically strong home numbers against Seattle, a shaky Kraken penalty kill, and both clubs playing with real midseason stakes—Calgary at the 41-game halfway mark trying to climb back into the race, Seattle guarding its wild-card spot—the game script favors a more open third period if either side is chasing, nudging this toward the Over 5.5 at -125; still, strong goaltending (Wolf, Grubauer, Daccord) and both offenses’ inconsistency cap this at a B- grade for a small to medium position rather than a flagship bet. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 05/01/2026 09:31

Given how often Seattle and Calgary play one-goal games and how disciplined the Kraken have been during their 6-0-1 surge, taking Seattle at +1.5 on the puckline looks like the highest-quality angle on the board, especially with the Flames dragging some fatigue from Sunday’s emotional last-minute loss to Nashville into this spot. Even in Calgary’s recent 4-2 win over Seattle, the game was essentially a one-goal contest until the late empty-netter, and the broader head-to-head sample over the last few seasons is littered with 3-2 and 4-3 finishes, reflecting both teams’ tendency toward tight-score environments and the Kraken’s identity as one of the league leaders in one-goal decisions. From a personnel standpoint, the confirmed active rosters show each team’s primary drivers available—Beniers, Eberle, Dunn and Stephenson for Seattle; Kadri, Backlund, Coronato, Zary and Andersson for Calgary—while the more impactful recent absences (Montour for Seattle, depth injuries plus John Beecher’s suspension for Calgary) either trim some offensive transition for the Kraken or chip away at the Flames’ bottom-six and defensive depth, subtly favoring a close-checking road underdog that leans on structure. Layer in Calgary’s uneven overall record despite home-ice success, the fact they’ve already hit the 41-game mark without separating from the pack, and Seattle’s need to bank every point to hold its current playoff position, and Kraken +1.5 at -175 grades out as an A-: a high-confidence, if somewhat juice-heavy, way to leverage Seattle’s form, rest edge, and historical competitiveness in this matchup. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 05/01/2026 09:31